COO Brent Dewar named new NASCAR president

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida: NASCAR announced on Thursday (Friday in Manila) that Brent Dewar, who joined the sport as chief operating officer (COO) in 2014, has been named NASCAR president.

Dewar becomes only the fourth person in NASCAR history to hold the designation of president, a position that has been vacant since Mike Helton was named NASCAR vice chairman two years ago.

Helton had been tapped as president in 2000 by Bill France Jr. and still sits on the sanctioning body’s board of directors.

“Dewar’s promotion to president is in following with NASCAR Chairman and CEO [chief executive president]Brian France’s vision for a more inclusive and strategic NASCAR,” NASCAR said in a statement. “As COO, Dewar led several monumental initiatives and drove strategic development and opportunity at every turn, while developing a strong leadership team centered on industry collaboration and metric-driven results.”

As president, Dewar will continue to serve on the NASCAR Board of Directors and will work closely with France, Lesa France Kennedy and Helton in setting the strategic course of the business in continued collaboration with key industry leaders.

“Brent has helped lead a cultural transformation at NASCAR,” said France. “From collaborating with team owners to building the charter framework; to partnering with tracks, auto manufacturers, entitlement sponsors, and broadcasters to deliver better racing and a more dynamic fan experience; he has spearheaded some of the most impactful enhancements NASCAR has implemented in its history.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled about the impact Brent has had on our industry and I am confident he will continue to help serve and grow our sport for many years to come.”

Steve Phelps, executive vice president and chief global sales and marketing officer, and Steve O’Donnell, executive vice president and chief racing development officer will continue to report into Dewar.

Prior to joining NASCAR, Dewar enjoyed a three-decade career as a global automotive executive. He worked in senior executive consulting roles at GreenOrder, Courland International and most recently was a managing partner at Whitby Advisors, where he consulted NASCAR on its wide-ranging initiative to transform its competition model in the areas of governance, rules, deterrence/penalties and officiating/inspection.

Dewar began his career at General Motors and achieved increasingly senior roles over nearly three decades at the global auto manufacturer. At GM, he managed many areas of operations, including global marketing, product development media, motor sports and sales operations for multiple brands. His final assignment with GM was senior vice president of Global Chevrolet.

Helton has been NASCAR’s most visible leader at the race track. He was named to the NASCAR board in 2015 and has been with the sanctioning body in various roles since 1994.